


shadows will scream

by shushx



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: Car Accidents, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Friends to Lovers, Hotels, Love Confessions, M/M, Men Crying, Nightmares, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-01 09:27:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18797578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shushx/pseuds/shushx
Summary: sometimes glass and blood are nothing compared to the love a specific ginger new york lover can give you.(ben can't sleep after a nightmare. joe worries about his best guy.)





	shadows will scream

**Author's Note:**

> hi darlings!   
> yet another joe & ben fic!!!  
> so excited to keep writing them, i absolutely love them.   
> this was a sweet but also heartbreaking oneshot i finished the other day but proofread just now.  
> enjoy, don't forget to let me know how you liked it!!!

ben had nightmares. 

there was never a traumatic incident that caused them, a terrible time that induced the panic set deep in his throat as he bolted awake a few nights a week.

ben also, thankfully, had amazing people in his life.

when you combine these two things, you get the fear of ben loosing these important and beautiful people, leaving him with nightmares about said phobia.

it was the early hours of the morning, too early for many people to be bustling in the city below the hotel ben and the rest of the bohemian rhapsody cast was currently staying in. the press tours had calmed, the buzz of the movie had died down. but, occasionally, there was a meeting or press that required them to all come together again and relive the days when they were all attached at the hip for weeks at a time as they filmed. 

ben shot awake, eyes darting across the dark room and breathing heavy. he swallowed, running a hand over his forehead, wiping away the sheen of sweat. he blinked his eyes closed, keeping them closed for a moment, but letting them open again and blinking then in rapid succession.

in the dream, in the nightmare, it was simple.

car. crash. glass. blood. 

screaming, no pulse, joe unresponsive. gwil in the passengers seat, fading in and out. rami wasn't in the back, like he should've been, instead launched foreward, all adorned by the cries of randoms and the heavy breathing of ben as he grabbed at his shirt. 

ben couldn't do anything. he was a ghost, everything passing through him, just watching. in the dream, he was in a white room, then. joe stood in there, tears down his face and gnarly cuts and bruises that forced ben to look away. 

"why didn't you help us?"

"joe, i tried," ben whispered.

"no you didn't."

"yes," ben's voice broke as tears welled, "yes i did." joe took a step forward and looked him up and down, then clenching his fists and face getting red.

"i'm  _ **dead,**_ ben. because of  _ **you,**_ " joe growled, jabbing a finger at him. he was gone, in a puff, ben left to cry and scream in an empty room. 

ben shook his head, feeling around his bedsheets and taking another deep breath. he slowly peeled the covers off of himself, swinging a leg around the side of the bed. he put his face in his hands, rubbing his worry lines and eyes. his feet were cold against the hardwood, toes curling and goosebumps appearing.

 his hands reached for his phone, unplugging it from the charger and lighting up to display only a handful of notifications, taking into consideration the time. ben stood up, carefully, sliding on shoes and pulling a coat over himself. he placed a snapback on the mess of hair atop his head, letting his hands fall to pull up his sweatpants slightly. 

with a swift motion, he had grabbed his keys and headed out.

-

in retrospect, it probably wasn't a great idea to be out in the middle of the night, in a strange city none the less. he was just walking aimlessly. the bright city lights were dim and bustling noise and everlasting chatter was mute as the dark sky seemed to blanket ben. 

absentmindedly, he tugged his phone from his coat pocket, unlocking it and pulling up instagram. with a quick refresh, nothing seemed to be new. ben stole a quick glance upwards, making sure he wouldn't run into anything before he looked back down. he stopped, swiping over to the camera and snapping a picture of the inky sky and twinkle of lights. he quickly added some simple text before shipping it off to his story. 

ben tucked his phone back away, turning a corner as he did so.

that's when he saw it. 

a car, totalled. a woman was standing and crying as someone was being loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher. glass glittered on the street, and they glinted in the blue and red lights emitted by the police sirens. 

ben couldn't breathe. his shirt was suddenly too tight, his throat too dry and much too small to even breathe out of. he blinked in rapid succession, begging the scene in front of him to dissapate. 

it stayed. ben did not. 

he took off running, a dead sprint back to the hotel. tears pooled in his eyes, vivid details from the scene he had witnessed mixing with his nightmare and making one horrible nightmare-soup.

the night and all the lights of the city blurred behind him, and no matter how fast he went, ben only seemed to be in slow motion. he blinked, and the pent-up tears began to run down his face. 

he slowed as the hotel came into view, still sniffling and letting tears fall as he tore into the lobby and punched the button near the lift. he ignored the look from the woman behind the desk, taking out his keycard for his room in a silent attempt for her to fuck off.

ben stepped into the elevator as the doors opened, staring at himself in the reflection as they closed. he was on the top floor, a painstakingly long moment passing as he was carried up. he ran a hand up and down his face, clasped around his mouth, silencing the small noises threatening to escape. tears were flowing freely and ben was sure he'd never hated someone more than himself in that moment.

a  _ping_ noise sounded and the doors opened. ben pulled the cap atop his head tightly, covering his eyes and casting a shadow against his face. 

he started down the hall, trying to take deep breaths and willing himself to calm down. just a few more steps to his room.

"...ben?" 

ben didn't even need to look up. he knew the voice all too well. he cleared his throat and blinked, looking up and wiping his face quickly. he knew before he looked. his joe. 

"hey, buddy."

joe's eyes danced over ben, probably noting how absolutely wrecked he looked. his face flashed from an expression of worry, transitioning to a creased brow and thin lips before he took a deep breath. he reverted back to his original neutral expression, a small smile of assurance and soft eyes painting his face. 

"why are you, uh...what'cha doin out here?" ben momentarily pondered if he should've let joe say something. he barely had time to think about it.

"i saw your um, your story." joe held up his phone, revealing the small picture, where ben could barely make out the text simply stating: _couldn't sleep-strange walks in a dark city are the cure, i suppose._

ben nodded slightly, as joe shoved his phone back in his sweatpant's pocket. 

"i just know you have your," joe took a deep breath and gestured with his hands, "nightmares. when i saw you were out and all i just wanted to...make sure you were okay." joe motioned to ben with his right hand and quirked his eyebrows, his voice falling soft and worry etching into his speech. "are you?"

ben noticed that his tears had slowed since he had started talking to joe, but also realized how much space was still between the two. he slowly worked down the hall, closing the space as he started to speak. 

"yeah i...yeah, i'm alright. just a little homesick." he was barely two feet from joe. he shrugged. joe let his anxiety show, brows knitting together. he licked his lips and looked to the floor before back at ben.

"...you don't look so alright." 

ben chuckled, looking up at the ceiling, begging tears to not fall from his eyes. his voice broke slightly during the weak laugh.

"i'm uh..." ben looked straight at joe before stumbling over his words a bit. his beautiful damn eyes, but all he could see was blood and screaming and accusations made from those same gorgeous eyes. his voice broke. "i'm not alright. i'm not alright." sobs wracked his body, joe immediately going to envelope him in a tight embrace. ben found the crook of joe's shoulder and pressed his head tightly into the space. joe rubbed a hand up and down ben's back, whispering soft  _"it's alright"_ 's and shushing him gently.

he pulled ben away from him, and he felt his heart drop as ben still kept hands clinging to him, desperate, like joe would vanish. joe wiped his thumb under his eye, wiping at a teardrop. "hey, let's go into your room, alright? i'll stay with you." ben nodded, and, still holding onto joe's hand, took a step forward and swiped his keycard after fishing it from his pocket. the door unlocked, and joe pulled ben inside. 

ben sat on the edge of the bed and joe followed suit. it was completely dark, aside from the soft glow of the city below outside of the curtains. the blond leaned into joe, and he reached out to brush the hair from his face. ben instinctively curled into the touch. 

"you don't have to tell me anything but.... do you want to talk about it?" joe asked calmly. he didn't pry, but ben adjusted and poured his heart out. he started from not being able to sleep to the horrible nightmare, to what he had seen outside. joe pulled him closer with each event ben mentioned, until he had him pulled into his arms so tight ben could barely move (he didn't mind), and really he was close enough to hear the gentle beating of ben's heart. he pulled off ben's cap and placed it on the nightstand.

"i would never say anything like that to you. ever. i..." joe paused and broke away from ben to look at him, with his hands cradling his cheeks. "i love you, ben. i would never hurt you." 

ben's eyes softened and he let his own hands find joe's shoulders as he took a deep breath in. "i love you too. a lot." 

joe leaned down carefully, bringing ben closer to him. he locked lips with the younger, and ben eagerly pressed into joe. it was sweet and passionate, but sloppy and messy all the same. after a minute, joe was the one who broke apart. 

"c'mon, as much as i'd love to do this all day, you need some sleep."

ben grumbled and rubbed his eyes. "so do you!" he tossed off his coat and kicked off his shoes. joe took off his own tee shirt. 

"okay, then i'll sleep in here with you." ben looked up at him and smiled slightly before wiping his face one last time, noting most of his tears were dried. 

"i'd like that. i'd like that a lot, joe." 

joe moved up the matress and peeled back the comforter, beckoning ben to slide in next to him. he pressed against ben's back and pressed a kiss on ben's jawline. ben was cradled in joe's touch and joe had his chin resting on ben's shoulder. he let out a content sigh and let his eyes flutter closed.

there were no nightmares for the rest of the night, only beautiful dreams involving a certain ginger-haired sweetheart and a green eyed lover who were a little infatuated with each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> that's it!   
> i know it's short, but it's somethin.  
> follow my instagram specifically for this ao3 account @_shushx   
> i post updates and behind the scenes on there!   
> ily, stay strong |-/


End file.
